capitalization of holidays in Russian

[Yoshimasa Tsuji]

Hello,
 Apart from the standard text book by Rozental', I would like to
show you how Grot recommended.
    N*ekotoryja nazvanija prazdnikov, ned*el' i dnej, im*ejushhikh
    osobennoe cerkovnoe znachenie: Rozhdestvo, Khristovo, Paskha,
    Blagov*eshhenie, Velikij post, Strastnaja, Sv*etlaja ned*elja,
    Velikij chetverg, Prepolovenie.
       No imena m*esjacev i dnej ned*eli, a takzhe narodnyja
    nazvanija prazdnikov i raznykh epokh goda, pishutsja s maloj bukvy:
    svjatki, maslennica, mjaso*ed, semik, kanikuly.
              (Ja.K. Grot: Russkoe pravopisanie. SPb, 1912.)
              Note: *e stands for a jat'; shh = shch; e at the beginning
              of the word is 'hard', when soft --> je, as in jezhegodnik.

-----
Current usage is more or less stable:
    Pervoe maja (but <1 Maja>), Den' Pobedy (that is of WW2. If
    in lower case, people will wonder which victory), velikij post,
    maslennica, paskha, rozhdestvo, svjatki, strastnaja nedelja,
    troicyn den' -- all in lower case because the Soviet State does not
    grant a special status to the Russian orthodox church, i.e. <paskha>
    can be that of any religious groups. Meanwhile, in publications of the
    Russian Orthodox church, <prazdnovanie v Nedelju sed'muju po Paskhe> is
    common since they believe the day has a very special meaning to
    themselves. (I am not sure if Jews print their Passover in upper case
    letters and Easter in lower case...)
      See N.S.Valgina and V.N.Svetlysheva: Orfografija i punktuacija. 1993.

Grot's recommendation will appear to be fair enough, but it has a
connotation that the Russian language and the Russian Orthodox Church are
inseparable.

Incidentally, I never saw <rozhdestvo> in lower case letters in the last
six years (I never failed to be in Moscow or Petersburg in that time
of the year).

Cheers,
Tsuji

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